Integrating Mathematical Thinking Into Family Engagement Programs

The brief explains how exposing young children to early math concepts supports their development of reasoning and problem solving skills and later success in and out of school. It describes the unique ways each of five family engagement programs funded by the Heising-Simons Foundation developed, tested, and integrated early math learning into their usual activities. The brief lays out seven practical tips that emerged from the grantees' experiences that can guide practitioners and other stakeholders who are interested in integrating early math into their own family engagement programs, and sheds light on issues that programs may want to keep in mind while doing so.

The Influence of Socioeconomic Factors on the Development of Early Number Concepts

Why are some children entering school unable to count, while others are able to do simple addition? It may be that early experiences, like practice with numbers and extra resources to promote logical thinking, lay the foundation for how children and adults understand and use math in their everyday lives. The major objectives of this thesis are to explore the 1) link between children\u27s intuitive number sense and their development of exact number concepts, 2) influence of language on early math achievement, and 3) influence of socioeconomic factors on various aspects of cognitive development. Participants included 133 preschool aged children from San José, California, and Middletown, Connecticut. Children\u27s development was assessed in three areas: number language, number sense, and general vocabulary. After completion of the tasks, demographic information, such as family income and education, was collected through surveys sent home to parents. Results show that parent income is related to children\u27s general vocabulary but not related to number language or number sense. General vocabulary is also linked to children\u27s number language, with evidence that the relationship between number sense and general vocabulary is mediated by children\u27s number language

Preschool STEAM: Yes They Can! (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Math)

This project addressed the need for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) initiatives at the early childhood level. Research states that early exposure to STEM initiatives and activities positively impacts elementary students’ perceptions and dispositions (Bagiati, Yoon, Evangelou, & Ngambeki, 2010; Bybee, & Fuchs, 2006; DeJarnette, 2012). The goal of this research was to positively impact the implementation of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) lessons in the Early Childhood classroom through providing professional development for the Early Childhood teachers. It was hypothesized that through professional development, resources, and support, Early Childhood teachers would build efficacy and build positive dispositions towards developing consistent STEAM lessons for their preschool students. The findings confirmed this phenomena, however, a gap regarding implementation still exists

Relationship Between Maternal Behavior During Pregnancy, Birth Outcome, and Early Childhood Development: An Exploratory Study

This study examines the relationship between maternal behavior during pregnancy, birth outcomes, and early childhood development. Specifically, in the context of four measures of maternal behavior during pregnancy (maternal smoking, drinking, prenatal care, and maternal weight gain), three measures of birth outcome (gestational age, birth length, and birth weight), and 32 exogenous covariates observed during pregnancy, we investigate the importance of maternal choices during pregnancy and birth outcomes in forecasting child health (as indicated by height and weight), child behavioral problems, and a child math/reading test score at age five or six. Strikingly, birth outcomes have virtually no structural/causal effects on early childhood developmental outcomes, and only maternal smoking and drinking during pregnancy have some effects on child height. Not surprisingly, family child-rearing environment has sizeable negative and positive effects on behavioral problems index and math/reading test score, respectively, and a mildly surprising negative effect on child height.endogeneity, birth weight, NLSY, prediction, simultaneous equations

Gender Differences in K-12 Education: What Indicators Are Important?

Although gender differences have been identified in scholarly research, there is little state reporting of indicators by gender. The purpose of this paper is to identify the gender gaps in K-12 education that have been reported in the literature, to discuss how and when these gaps manifest themselves, and to recommend which of the educational performance indicators should be reported by gender in Georgia. Ultimately, the purpose of reporting indicators by gender is to aid in the efforts to close gender gaps in education.A review of the literature reveals that gender gaps exist at both empirical and experiential levels. Empirically, gaps exist in math, science, and reading proficiency scores, as well as in course enrollment in higher level math and science and graduation rates. Experientially, gaps exist in self esteem levels, personal perceptions of ability, teacher interaction with students, as well as in the advice and opportunities that are afforded students. While studies show that girls and boys start kindergarten on a generally equal footing, by grade twelve girls are generally in a lower academic position than their male counterparts, particularly in the areas of math and science. Research shows that the most critical age for the development of gender gaps is early adolescence, particularly grade seven in which girls= educational performance in math and science begins to plummet.Based on the research and data reported in this paper, the following indicators are recommended to be reported by gender. They are separated into indicators that are currently available by gender, and indicators that are recommended to be reported by gender in the future

Kindergarten classroom equipment early for math development

Dijete stalno istražuje i pokušava razumjeti svijet oko sebe(i samog sebe u tom svijetu). Bogato i raznovrsno okruženje, te primjerena interakcija odraslih, proces učenja mogu poticati i podržavati. Preduvjet za djetetovo uspješno usvajanje matematike su početne matematičke vještine. Zbog količine vremena koje dijete provodi u dječjem vrtiću od velike je važnosti sama opremljenost dječjeg vrtića da bi se djetetov matematički potencijal mogao pravilno razvijati. Spoznaja opremljenosti dječjih vrtića dovest će do saznanja potreba i poboljšanja materijala samih dječjih vrtića. Iako nedostatak literature o povezanosti opremljenosti sobe dnevnog boravka i početnog učenja matematike predstavlja problem. Veći interes za istraživanje područja povezanosti početnog učenja matematike i opremljenosti sobe dnevnog boravka dovest će do razjašnjavanja problematike i upoznavanja s važnosti te povezanosti. U empirijskom dijelu rada napravljena je procjena opremljenosti sobe dnevnoga boravka za početno učenje matematike. Analizirano je 9 soba dnevnoga boravka u 5 dječjih vrtića. Prostor je procijenjen pomoću Skale za procjenu prostorno - materijalnog okruženja(Romstein,2014), odnosno subskale koja se odnosi na matematiku. Dobiveni rezultati mogu poslužiti odgojiteljima kao poticaj za obogaćivanjem prostora materijalima koji potiču na razvoj matematičkih kompetencija u dječjem vrtiću.The child is constantly exploring and tries to understand the world around him (and himself in that world). The rich and diverse environment, and appropriate interaction with adults ,process of learning can be encouraged and supported. A prerequisite for a child's successful acquisition of mathematics are initial math skills. Due to the amount of time a child spends in kindergarten is of great importance of equipment in kindergarten for child's mathematical potential develop properly. Detection equipment kindergarten will lead to knowledge needs and improving the materials themselves kindergartens. Although the lack of literature on the connection between the equipment room living room and initial learning mathematics is a problem. Increasing interest in the research area connects initial learning mathematics and equipment room living room will lead to clarifying issues and learn about the importance of this connection. In empirical part of the paper was made an evaluation equipment of room living room for initial learning mathematics. A total of 9 rooms living room have been analyzed in 5 kindergartens. The area has been evaluated on the Scale for spatial material surrounding evaluation (Romstein, 2014), specifically subscale that focuses on mathematics. The obtained results can be of use to pre-school teachers as incentive for enriching space with materials that encourage development of mathematical competencies in kindergarten

How Much Can High-Quality Universal Pre-K Reduce Achievement Gaps?

Many children of color and children from low-income families enter kindergarten without the academic skills they need to succeed. Compared to their white peers, African American and Hispanic children are anywhere from 9 to 10 months behind in math and 7 to 12 months behind in reading when they enter kindergarten. These achievement gaps are concerning: Math and reading abilities at kindergarten entry are powerful predictors of later school success, and children who enter kindergarten already behind are unlikely to catch up. Moreover, in the past 50 years, minimal progress has been made toward reducing these achievement gaps. Ensuring that all children are entering kindergarten with the foundational academic skills they need to succeed is a major priority for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners alike. Early childhood education programs show promise toward this goal. Research suggests that participation in a high-quality early childhood education program can enhance children's development, reduce achievement gaps at kindergarten entry, and even have long-term benefits for children's school trajectories. However, access to high-quality pre-K in the United States remains quite low and highly unequal due to two problems. First, although pre-K attendance has increased in the past two decades, rates of access to early education vary widely as a function of children's socioeconomic backgrounds: African American, Hispanic, and low-income children are less likely to access center-based early childhood education than their white and more affluent peers. Second, the quality of most early education programs -- particularly those attended by low-income children of color -- is not high enough to substantially improve academic readiness. Recognizing the tremendous potential for high-quality preschool to improve children's outcomes, this report considers how a universal publicly funded prekindergarten program in the United States could decrease both disparities in access to early learning and achievement gaps at kindergarten entry. Data from two nationally representative datasets and prior results from evaluations of high-quality universal pre-kindergarten were analyzed to estimate the extent to which a national high-quality universal pre-K, or UPK, program would reduce achievement gaps at kindergarten entry based on children's race/ethnicity and income

Preschool STEAM: Yes They Can!

This project addresses the need for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) initiatives at the early childhood level. Research states that early exposure to STEM initiatives and activities positively impacts elementary students’ perceptions and dispositions (Bagiati, Yoon, Evangelou, & Ngambeki, 2010; Bybee, & Fuchs, 2006; DeJarnette, 2012). The goal of this research is to positively impact the implementation of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) lessons in the Early Childhood classroom through providing professional development for the Early Childhood teachers. It is hypothesized that through professional development, resources, and support, Early Childhood teachers will build efficacy and build positive dispositions towards developing consistent STEAM lessons for their preschool students

Assessing the Early Impact of School of One: Evidence from Three School-Wide Pilots

For more than 150 years, education has been organized around classrooms in which one teacher attempts to meet the needs of a large group of students who have a wide range of prior experiences, knowledge, and ways of learning. This structure makes it exceedingly difficult to ensure that all students meet the same standards of performance. School of One (SO1) is an innovative, technology-enhanced math program that seeks to "meet students where they are," by creating individual learning plans, offering multiple teaching strategies, and using daily assessments to monitor progress and adapt lessons as needed. This report evaluates SO1's impact on students' state test scores during the first year of school-wide implementation in three New York City middle schools. It also presents exploratory analysis examining whether exposure to more SO1 material, or mastery of SO1 skills, is associated with improved math performance. Given the early stage of the program's development, the authors caution that the evaluation should not be interpreted as a definitive assessment of SO1's effectiveness. Rather, the findings provide a preliminary assessment of SO1's initial impact on students' math achievement and offer insights that may contribute to the program's development and inform future research

EFEKTIVITAS PEMBELAJARAN DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN GERAK DAN LAGU DALAM MENINGKATKAN KOMPETENSI EARLY MATH ANAK USIA DINI : Studi Quasi Eksperimen Anak Usia 5-6 Tahun di TK Az-Zahra dan PAUD Kenanga Kecamatan Cimenyan Bandung

Matematika berperan penting dalam kehidupan, oleh karena itu sejak usia dini harus mempelajari matematika guna memecahkan masalah sehari-hari. Saat ini matematika menjadi salah satu hal kontroversi di dunia pendidikan anak usia dini karena ada pendapat yang mengatakan bahwa anak usia dini tidak diperbolehkan untuk diajarkan sebab hal tersebut merupakan pemaksaan dan anak belum siap menerima calistung, fenomena yang muncul adalah metode yang tidak tepat bagi anak usia dini. Pembelajaran gerak dan lagu menjadi salah satu alternatif untuk meningkatkan kompetensi early math pada anak usia dini. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui efektivitas pembelajaran gerak dan lagu dalam meningkatkan kompetensi early math anak usia dini. Metode yang digunakan adalah studi kuasi eksperimen anak usia 5-6 tahun di TK Az-Zahra dan PAUD Kenanga. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa pembelajaran gerak dan lagu efektif dalam meningkatkan kompetensi early math anak usia 5-6 tahun di TK Az-Zahra dan PAUD Kenanga. Hal tersebut dipengaruhi oleh konten pada gerak dan lagu yang mendukung kompetensi early math, media pembelajaran yang atraktif dan menyenangkan bagi anak. Guru diharapkan dapat menggunakan metode yang variatif dan menyenangkan bagi anak. Pemilihan metode dan media pembelajaran yang tepat akan membantu mengoptimalkan perkembangan kompetensi early math anak. Kata kunci : Pembelajaran gerak dan lagu, kompetensi early math, anak usia dini. Mathematics an important role in the life, therefore, from an early years must learn mathematics to solve everyday problems. Nowadays mathematics became one of the controversies in early childhood education as there are opinions that say that early childhood is not allowed to be taught because it is an imposition and children are not ready to accept calistung, a phenomenon that appears is a method that is not appropriate for young children. Success in mathematics learning beginning in early childhood education does not escape from the exact method used by teachers in accordance with the early childhood development. Music and movement learning became one of the alternatives to improve the competence of early math in early childhood. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the music and movement in improving the early math competence of early childhood. The method used is a quasi-experimental study of children 5-6 years in TK Az-Zahra and PAUD Kenanga. The results of this study indicate that music and movement learning effective in improving early math competence of children 5-6 years. Keywords: music and movement, early math competence, young children